Supporter Blog

On the behalf of The Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition, I would like to thank the sponsors of the resolution that became Issue 1— former State Representatives Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and Vernon Sykes (D-Akron). A special thank you to the members of the 130th Ohio General Assembly for voting to place the redistricting reform proposal before the voters!

A huge thanks to Unlock The Inbox for providing us the tools necessary to reach our audience by email and teaching us about senderID and DMARC records.

A big thank you to the League of Women Voters of Ohio for taking up the challenge of crafting great Issue 1 materials and helping us all figure out the best way to distribute information and educate voters!

The League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area called for “No more salamanders!” And voters took heed.

I am especially grateful to the redistricting reformers who first attempted to challenge the winner-take-all system— former State Rep. Joan Lawrence (R-Galena), the grandfather of redistricting David Horn.

Check out the long list of endorsers on the right panel! Without all of you, Issue 1 would never have passed. I so appreciate how you reached out to your members and helped educate voters about the importance of Issue 1. The support of a broad, diverse coalition shows us how campaigns and government should work, setting partisan politics aside and working in the best interest of the people.

Visual images have been essential to enhancing the understanding of unfair redistricting. Gerrymandering, or the manipulation of legislative districts for partisan reasons, is a term based on an 1812 political cartoon of a salamander-shaped district crafted by then Governor Elbridge Gerry. The folks from ProgressOhio and Democratic Voices led by Sandy Theis created some truly meaningful images to highlight the problem with gerrymandering and artfully convened Issue 1 as the compelling solution.

ProgressOhio truly led the way on social media! A big thank you to the Issue 1 Social Media Team. Angela Tombazzi of Ohio Voice was the best den mother, encouraging us all to “share.”

A special thank you to the volunteers who reached out to voters at the Early Vote locations and at the polls on Election Day! Thanks to all who telephoned voters to urge them to vote YES on Issue 1. Greg Moore of the Ohio Voter Fund and Jerah Smith of Independent Lines Advocacy were especially good at recruiting volunteers!

I so appreciate the Brennan Center for Justice’s Michael Li traveling to Ohio in October for our forum on redistricting reform. A special thank you to the hosts Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) and Senator John Eklund (R- Munson Township). And kudos to the Brennan Center’s Eric Petry and Rev. Otis Moss, Jr. for their eloquent op-ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

I would also like to thank the many people to the time to share why they support redistricting reform:

I would also like to thank John Wellington Ennis, filmmaker and activist, who helped create the Fair Districts= Fair Elections Activist Comics Competition. I so appreciate all who participated in the competition!

A final thank you to Deidra Reese, Angela Tombazzi and Camille Wimbish of Ohio Voice and the Ohio Voter Coalition. Together they kept the yesforIssue1.org site up-to-date and encouraged us all!

Thank you all! Onward! What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Congressional redistricting is up next!

"The people of Ohio have been waiting a long time for fair districts and an end to gerrymandering," said Carrie Davis, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio (LWVO). "We are thrilled that a fair process for drawing state legislative districts is finally required by Ohio's constitution."

"Ohio voters sent a clear message today," said Davis. "They want districts to be fair and the winners to be determined by the voters."

"We want to thank former Representatives Vernon Sykes and Matt Huffman for all their work getting this reform through the legislature and onto the ballot,” added Catherine Turcer of Common Cause Ohio. "Their bipartisan teamwork and the support of a broad, diverse coalition shows us how government should work, setting partisan politics aside and working in the best interests of the people."

"Today's win was an important first step, but it only got us halfway there," concluded Davis. "We need to take these new anti-gerrymandering rules that Issue 1 applied to the General Assembly and extend them to Congressional districts, which are even more gerrymandered. We will continue to work with members of both parties in the General Assembly and Constitutional Modernization Commission to put Congressional Redistricting reform on the 2016 ballot."

Happy Election Day! Vote YES on Issue 1. Today we have the opportunity to create fairer elections for years to come. Get out and exercise your right to vote!

The polls are open today from 6:30am to 7:30pm. Your polling location may have changed since the last time you voted, even if you still live at the same address. Find your Polling Location here.

You will need to provide poll workers with identification.

The following are acceptable documents for voter ID:

An unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state identification card with present or former address so long as the voter’s present residential address is printed in the official list of registered voters for that precinct;

A military identification;

A photo identification that was issued by the United States government or the State of Ohio, that contains the voter’s name and current address and that has an expiration date that has not passed;

An original or copy of a current utility bill with the voter’s name and present address;

An original or copy of a current bank statement with the voter’s name and present address;

An original or copy of a current government check with the voter’s name and present address;

An original or copy of a current paycheck with the voter’s name and present address; or

An original or copy of a current other government document (other than a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections) that shows the voter’s name and present address.

For more information about the acceptable documents that you can use to vote, visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

More Information on Voting in Ohio

To find out which candidates and issues will be on your ballot this year, visit http://www.vote411.org/ballot and type in your full address.

Visit Judicial Votes Count to get more information on judicial candidates in Ohio.

Any problems?

Call the Election Protection 866-OUR-VOTE hotline with any questions or to let them know if you experience any problems at the polls.

If you have last minute questions about Issue 1, please feel free to call the Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition at 614-441-9145.

Written by Jennifer Thorne, Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence

With the current gridlock in Washington, gun violence prevention advocates know that state-based gun regulations are critical in our continued work to preventing gun violence. Here in Ohio, we live with the consequences of an unfairly gerrymandered legislature that favors extremism everyday. We see these consequences in the refusal of our elected officials to schedule hearings on bills containing popular, responsible, common sense gun regulations. We also see these consequences in the advancement of an agenda of unpopular, irresponsible, reckless gun proposals that would put our public safety at further risk.

Issue 1 would create a fair and transparent process for drawing state legislative districts and end the manipulation of district lines that favor one party over another. Data-driven gun violence prevention policies would have a fair chance at the State House, instead of proposals that line the pockets of those who profit off off gun violence.

If ever there were a time where your voice made a difference, it is with Issue 1. This Election Day, Ohioans need to send a strong message that we are fed up with the advancement of extremist agendas in Columbus, and are looking for real representation of our values.

Take action and vote yes on Issue 1. Tell your friends and family why you support Issue 1. When the conversation turns to other ballot measures during personal conversations and on social media, bring up Issue 1 and the vital importance that redistricting reform plays in the health of our democratic process. Make sure your voice is heard!

The League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area (LWVCA) released an Issue 1 endorsement video on Thursday, October 29. The 40-second motion graphics video explains why Ohioans should vote yes on the state’s redistricting proposal.

For years, the state’s majority party in power has been able to manipulate the state legislative districts to give it an unfair number of representatives in the Ohio Legislature. The districts look like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. It’s called Gerrymandering – named after the Massachusetts Governor of 1812 who redrew a district like a salamander.

Like the video says, LWVCA wants “no more salamanders.”

“If you happen to be in the minority in your district, it takes a near-miracle for your candidate to win,” said LWVCA President Nancy Dawley. “Soon, minority candidates might stop running – they won’t want to waste their time and money.”

That means only one party would control the legislature. That’s not a democracy.

The League of Women Voters has advocated redistricting reform in Ohio for the last 40 years. LWVCA volunteers have distributed thousands of vote yes for Issue 1 materials including yard signs, postcards, buttons, and bookmarks. Contact the LWVCA office at (513) 281-8683 or [email protected] to access copies.

And remember to vote yes on Issue 1 to create a bipartisan redistricting commission, with clear rules for creating fair districts with public input and transparency.

Additional supporters of Issue 1 include the state Republican and Democratic parties, Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Common Cause Ohio.

While it is not a presidential election year, this November 3 might be the most important day you will ever cast your ballot in Ohio.

And no, we are not talking about marijuana.

We are talking about the very important, but sadly unexciting, issue of redrawing state legislative districts to be fairer.

You Can Have a Direct Impact on ElectionsRedrawing legislative districts, redistricting, gerrymandering—whatever you call it—this is the first time in over 40 years that we the people will be able to vote on a major overhaul that has a chance to make a difference in how Ohio’s state legislators are elected to office.

Voters are tired. Apathetic. Who could blame them? The way legislative districts are currently drawn, skewed so heavily towards the party in power, it feels like your vote doesn’t count.Issue 1 will change guidelines to help your vote have an impact. It creates the following new rules for politician’s districts:

Cannot favor or disfavor a party

Seats must be proportional to the number of individuals who vote for each party

Must be compact

Have very detailed rules on which communities can be split

Will have very limited variability of their sizes

Will not have any preference for previously drawn districts

While the districts will be redrawn by the elected officials in power, those in the minority party have to vote to approve the new plan. This means the minority party will have a voice. And your vote will mean more.

Like many plans that are supported by both of the parties in power, there are compromises that had to be made. You can read more about them on the Fair Districts Ohio website.

What Issue One Impacts

Do you care about abortion rights? Are you supportive of increasing protections for LGBT Ohioans? Do you want police to be held more accountable? Keeping our prisons from overflowing with non-violent criminals? Or even local school district funding? Taxes? You may be noticing a theme here—voting yes on Issue 1 could impact every one of those issues, which are decided by your state legislators.

A more representative district equals a fairer system.

Vote YES on Issue 1 to make your vote mean more and make a difference for the future of all Ohioans.

COLUMBUS— In a swing state like Ohio, it’s uncommon to find political common ground. Except for this year – when it comes to Issue 1.

Those who support it include the Ohio Democratic Party and Ohio Republican Party; Ohio State fans and University of Michigan backers; NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio and Ohio Right to Life; cat lovers and dog lovers and those on opposite sides of the epic battle over Senate Bill 5.

Don’t believe it? Check this out:

“As an Ohio State fan, I support the lopsided margins of victory common in our match-ups with the University of Michigan,’’ said Aaron Marshall, OSU graduate and star of HBO’s Michigan vs Ohio State: The Rivalry. “As a State of Ohio fan, however I oppose the lopsided legislative margins in our swing state. That’s why I urge ALL fans to vote YES on Issue 1.’’

“Issue 1 will create fair rules for drawing state legislative districts. Football players are expected to follow basic rules of fairness; why should the politicians who draw our maps be any different?’’ Hairston asked.

At NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, Executive Director Kellie Copeland is working hard to pass Issue 1.Polls consistently show a majority of Ohio voters support abortion rights, but a majority of legislators have added 16 new restrictions in five years, and Copeland blames Ohio’s badly gerrymandered districts.

“NARAL knows that for women to truly be empowered, they must be able to decide whether to have children and when to have them. For voters to be truly empowered, we must end today’s system that lets politicians pick their voters by designing their own districts,’’ she said.

As Ohio Right to Life President, Mike Gonidakis lobbied hard for those new restrictions, but also favors Issue 1.

“More pro-life Democratic candidates will get elected if we have less gerrymandered districts which, at times, protect pro-choice candidates,’’ he said. “Issue 1 will allow the voices of all Ohioans to be heard.’’

Remember the hotly contested ballot issue over Senate Bill 5, the measure that sought to weaken collective bargaining rights for public employees?

The Greater Cleveland Partnership was for it; public sector unions led the fight to overturn it. This year, however, both support Issue 1 for nearly identical reasons.

On its website, the Partnership notes that today’s map-making system results in “a polarization of our General Assembly. More accountability and fairness in the process will improve governing in our state.’’

David Quolke, who heads the Cleveland Teachers’ Union, explained his support for Issue 1, “Politicians will be more accountable to voters if districts are fairly drawn. Better accountability will improve the way our state is governed.

Catherine Turcer of Common Cause Ohio, supports Issue 1 because fair districts are good for voters of all stripes.

“Republicans and Democrats often fight like cats and dogs but they came together for Issue 1. So should Ohio voters,’’ Turcer said.

Today the Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition announced the winners of the Activist Comics Competition. First place with a cash award of $500 goes to Columbus College of Art and Design student Samantha Archual with Gerrymander v. Super Nina.

Former state Senator Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) is featured in Archual’s Activist Comic. Turner was one of the legislators who voted to put Issue 1 on this November’s ballot. Super Nina’s strip concludes by calling on us all to be redistricting reform heroes and vote “yes” on Issue 1. Sen. Turner said she was honored to be an inspiration for the winning artist.

“Redistricting reform is one of the most important issues we can tackle,’’ Turner said. “It's my hope that Super Nina will inspire the voters of our great state to vote YES on Issue 1 so they all can be super heroes too.''

“As an admirer or Nina Turner, I was thrilled to see her cast a real-life superhero, complete with a call to action, and so I pinned her adventure comic as No. 1,” said Ennis, whose new book on street art, Where Else But The Streets, comes out this month on Rothco Press. “But I might have to see about putting up Lady Justice and Miss Fair around the streets of Los Angeles…."

Max Andrews of 3 Geeks Podcast was equally impressed by Archual’s winning submission. “I liked that there was a full experience. If you don’t know what gerrymandering is, you begin to understand and you can follow along,” Andrews said. “It’s original and you can see the hard work.”

“The top three superheroes fighting the Mighty Gerrymander were all women and redistricting reform has been promoted for years by real life heroines from the League of Women Voters of Ohio like Joan Lawrence,” said Deidra Reese of Ohio Voice.

Lawrence is a former Republican state representative from Galena who introduced redistricting reform legislation every session that she was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for 16 years.

Visual images have been essential to enhancing the understanding of unfair redistricting. Gerrymandering, or the manipulation of legislative districts for partisan reasons, is a term based on an 1812 political cartoon of a salamander-shaped district crafted by then Governor Elbridge Gerry. Issue 1 on this November’s ballot addresses state legislative redistricting reform.

To learn more about the winner, Samantha Archual, and to see the Miss Fair v. Guilty Gerry and Lady Justice comics, click "Read More."

It’s been nearly a year since Issue 1 was a proposal in the Ohio House of Representatives (HJR 12)! Last year former state representatives Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) joined forces when they sponsored the redistricting reform legislation and shepherded it through both chambers of the state legislature. Since Issue 1 continues to gain support from a diverse group of organizations including the Ohio Democratic Party and the Ohio Republican Party and, ACLU Ohio, AFL-CIO Ohio, County Commissioners Association of Ohio, Faith in Public Life, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Education Association, NAACP Ohio Conference, Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and many more!

This week Ohioans will hear directly from the Fair Districts for Ohio duo when they turn on the radio.

“As former state legislators, we’ve seen the gridlock that occurs in Columbus,” Matt Huffman explaining why voters should vote YES on Issue 1 on the radio spot. “We want to change it. Ohio’s redistricting process which determines who represents you at the Statehouse has become a highly partisan process putting politics above the people.” Vernon Sykes urges, “Your YES vote on Issue 1 will create a new bipartisan commission. Democrats and Republicans will work together to create maps that are fair to everyone.” Both Huffman and Sykes highlight the importance of creating a more transparent and bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission.